Helleborus orientalis
I had to admit that this particular flower above is not really a sign of spring, since it blooms during the winter but it was the only flower I could find in my garden at this point and it DID feel like spring, so I figured I use this as a substitute… The weather right now is lovely. Sunshine and about 10 degrees. Not warm but due to the sun it actually feels much warmer.. I even enjoyed a cup of tea outside!
Today was the day I had planned to bake the oatmeal cookies for the new challenge at Sweet and Simple Bakes and in addition to that I would be making my own pesto for a lovely sandwich for lunch. I still had lots of basil left, as well as some mozzarella that I wanted to use with some mushrooms. So far so good… the baking of the cookies went well, but I will post on that on April 1st, so no sooner! Making the pesto was easy and spreading out the mozzarella on some bread also not so complicated… But that is where it went wrong!
Mozarella pesto sandwich grilled
First of all I had to put the sandwich under the grill which was blazing hot and I left it slightly too long since I was doing other things in between. So one of the bread halves got burned completely and the other one a little. Anyway; I took them out and was just about to place them nicely for the photo when my phone rang.
One of the things when you’re self employed is that I feel that I cannot leave the phone ringing since it might be a customer. In this case that was actually true, so the next 10 to 15 minutes were spend talking to a prospective wedding couple that wanted to book me for their wedding. Not something you dismiss in 1 minute either…
But you guessed the next bit; by the time I was done with the phone call, my lovely sandwich had deteriorated and was cold… 
Of course I had to still make a photo of it, just to show you that I am not lying, but certainly not the best looking sandwich you have ever seen!
I am looking outside now and just have to go back into the garden…. The sun is still shining… so hang on. I’ll be back!
(twenty minutes later) Is there anything nicer than that first time the sun is strong enough to be outside? As soon as there is a cloud I have to run indoors though, as that is just a temperature drop way too big, but it’s lovely outside. Now if only we could have a little bit of green on the trees I would be even happier!
A touch of green
Anyway, back to my – not so successful – lunch.
Despite it being cold, it was still quite tasty when I ate it. Mozzarella (buffalo) can be a bit bland sometimes, but because I had spread a good layer of my homemade pesto (inspired by Zesty Cook‘s article from yesterday and an article in Donna Hay Magazine on toasted bread ) and added some baked mushrooms and pine seeds on top, it was crunchy and had just the right amount of taste. It would have been nicer warm though, but ok, better next time I guess.
No cooking tomorrow since I will be out all day and have to work in the evening.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Simone and this is the reason they should have at shoots 1 chef, 1 food stylist, 1 photographer, 1 lighting assitant and a secretary to asnwer the phone! hahaha….
Still I love the shots and everything looks really yummy!
You are soooo right!! No wonder I couldn’t do it all by myself…:))
That a phenomenal site you have here!! Really gorgeous photos!
Hi Simone. Thanks for stopping by our site earlier. Your site and photography is absolutely beautiful. I hate that when life takes us away from cooking and the goods get burned. Salvage what we can and move on. What’s left looks tasty. Todd.
your pesto looks absolutely beautiful!
Hi Simone – Thanks for stopping by Zested. I see we’re having the same craving for spring! What beautiful flower is this that blooms in the winter? I need to get one! Liz
Hi Liz! Thanks! I love your blog. I think it is amazing! This flower is called Helleborus Orientalis or the christmas rose. You have it in different varieties; I originally bought the white one but I also have a few light pinkish ones which have arrived spontaneously…. It’s very hardy and I’ve had the same plant for years. Might take a while for it to bloom as much as it does now, but certainly worth it!
Very cool – thanks! I’m going to look for one – it would be so nice to have a little color on my very barren patio right now. Only a few more weeks now until I can bring my garden back to life again!
I can’t wait for the garden to be green again…. It seems I yearn for spring more this year then I normally do… Let me know if you find the plant!